ENMU alumni honored

Eastern New Mexico University presented several ENMU Foundation and Alumni Association awards Saturday during homecoming breakfast in the Campus Union Building.

The ENMU Foundation Awards:

Business of the Year: Doris and James Cassan of Dollar Rent A Car

Being raised in the small town of Causey southeast of Portales, Doris Cassan said ENMU gave and continues to give small-town kids like her a chance. She attended the Business Education program at ENMU from 1957 to 1961. Her husband, James, grew up in Portales, and went to school at New Mexico State University to receive an engineering degree.

Throughout their lives they lived in numerous places, but in the mid 60s James accepted a position with the Boeing Aircraft Company in Seattle, Wash. It was in Washington where the two have spent the majority of their lives together, raising their children and building their business, Dollar Rent A Car, which they began in 1968.

Cassan Enterprises Inc., is a Silver Greyhound Society member in the Annual Honor Roll. They are a Pearl Level member to the new Lifetime Giving Recognition, The Friends of Eastern Society. Initially, their Dollar Rent A Car scholarship was given to other area rural students to give them the same opportunity that Doris had been given.

“It was one way I could give back to the community that had formed my basic values, honest hard work, and belief in God and country,” Cassan said. Over the years, they have given a total of $53,500 to their scholarship, Dollar Rent A Car Endowment.

Philanthropist of the Year: Betty Chamblin Joyner

Growing up in San Diego, Calif., Chamblin Joyner transferred to ENMU in 1960 as a sophomore seeking a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Soon after moving to Portales, she met the love of her life, Donald.

In September 1960, they were married and moved to Clovis, where Don was employed as a junior high school counselor. Betty then drove daily to ENMU from Clovis, so she could finish her studies-completing her bachelor’s in 1962 and master’s in 1963.

In 1966 they moved to Louisiana where Don taught at LSU-Monroe, and Betty was awarded a teaching assistantship at Louisiana Tech from where she received a Doctorate of Business Administration degree in l973. They finally ended up moving to Corpus Christi in l974 to teach at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, where they both retired as full professors in 2003.

She has donated more than $30,000 to the Donald and Betty Joyner Endowed Scholarship. Because of this generosity, Dr. Betty Joyner is a Gold Level member of the Lifetime giving recognition, The Friends of Eastern Society. She and her husband established the Donald and Betty Joyner Endowed Scholarship in 2005. The couple has also included the ENMU Foundation in their estate plans.

Volunteer of the Year: Kathleen Salter

With a doctorate in mathematics from Northwestern University, she has been teaching math for 40-plus years. Salter’s first job was teaching math at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

In 1972, she was hired as a full-time math professor at ENMU and continued her service until her retirement in 2006.

“Portales was a change, but I felt comfortable in the math department,” she said.

Her love of math encouraged her to sponsor the “Math and Science Bowl” at ENMU for junior high and high school students. Helping students succeed at Eastern also prompted her to serve as the faculty sponsor for the St. Thomas Moore Newman Center from the late ‘70s to the mid-‘90s. She also served as department chair for several years and helped shape math curriculum for the program until her retirement in 2006.

In 2006, Salter started volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

“I wanted to try something new and different,” she said, “and I enjoy helping build new homes for families in need.”

She’s picked up a number of building skills and good friends as a result and currently serves as vice president of Habitat’s Board of Directors.

Salter not only gives of her time and talent but also her treasure. She is a Gold Level Member of the Lifetime Giving Recognition, The Friends of Eastern Society. She has donated over $29,000 to ENMU supporting the music program, Bench Club, University Friends of Music and numerous scholarships.